Nightmares can be related to browsing social networks during the day
2024-08-06 14:08:10
TiranaPost
A recent study links social media use to poor sleep quality and a higher prevalence of nightmares.
It's the latest in a series of studies linking frequent social media use by teenagers to troubling mental health outcomes — and the first to focus on the negative psychological impact it can have on dream quality and sleep-related disturbances. Other troubling outcomes stemming from the use of online platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X, and Facebook include higher incidences of depression, increased loneliness and isolation, and higher risk of cyberbullying and suicide.
"As social media becomes more and more intertwined with our lives, its influence can also affect our dreams (as) we found that individuals who spend more time on the platforms during the day wake up more at night and are more prone to experienced nightmares," says Reza Shabahang, the lead author of the study, in Australia.
This is, in part, because the content one sees there "about bullying, political strife, disturbing news and social comparisons adds to the emotional distress, which can lead to bad dreams," says Shelby Harris, a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist at Albert Einstein.
How social media affects dreams
The new research followed what Shabahang's research team defined as a 'social media-related nightmare scale', which was constructed based on previous nightmare classifications, relevant literature and other studies that have explored external influences on the quality of dreams.
After this scale, 595 study participants noted the frequency of their social media activity and how often and intensely they experienced technology-related stressful situations.
Examples of situations commonly included conflicts with other social media users, upsetting news, the inability to access one's social media account, and feelings of victimization, helplessness, and loss of control.
These were associated with increased anxiety, lower mental calmness, poor sleep quality and general restlessness.
And while people can sometimes experience such negative outcomes due to other external factors, the novelty of this study is that these occur in the specific context of social media.
She explains that the study is effective, in part, because it is based on the research-backed 'dream continuity hypothesis', a model of dreaming that posits that what we experience during the day appears in our dreams at night.
According to this model, 'people who focus more on social media - especially in an anxious or negative way - are the people expected to have more social media-related anxieties'.
This focus is essential because the way people use these platforms is likely to directly affect the quality of dreams. For example, Shabahang notes that people who use social media primarily to connect with family and friends are less likely to experience negative dreams than people who use it compulsively to engage in contentious online debates or to follow accounts that regularly highlight disturbing news.
Regardless of one's intentions, disturbing information or negative interactions commonly occur across social platforms as their algorithms are specifically designed to evoke physiological and psychological emotions and feed media addiction, making the brain and body crave more more information on social media.
How social media affects sleep quality
Beyond unpleasant and disturbing dreams, the Flinders study and other related research show that poorer sleep quality and sleep disruptions are also generally more common among people who use a lot of social media apps.
A large body of research supports the link between overall screen-based media consumption time and poorer sleep health in adolescents and possibly adults.
Another study shows that when teenagers learn about missed opportunities or events on social platforms, they experience a fear of missing out (FOMO) so intense that they can even lose sleep.
Let's not talk about the impact that the ringing or vibration of the phone has on sleep.
Why does it matter?
Recent data shows that 20 percent of people sleep less than five hours each night, while more than 50 percent sleep only six to seven hours each night. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting seven to eight hours of 'good quality sleep' each night to avoid problems related to sleep deprivation.
Chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to decreased immune health, increased risk of cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease, impaired cognitive function, decreased metabolic health, and higher levels of obesity and health risks such as diabetes. "Chronic poor sleep is also a precursor and mediator of depression and anxiety," adds Carter.
To prevent sleep deprivation, be careful with social networks.
